Digging to China - Hardcover

Rawlins, Donna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 053105814X ISBN 13: 9780531058145

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1989

Synopsis

Hearing her friend Marj, the elderly lady next door, speak wistfully of China, Alexis digs a hole all the way through the earth to that exotic country and brings back a postcard for Marj's birthday

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Little Alexis is quite friendly with her next door neighbor, Marj, an older woman who collects cacti and who dreams of going to China. Alexis digs through the earth, comes out in China, and returns with a postcard in time for Marj's birthday. The last picture shows two Chinese children emerging from Alexis' tunnel. Watercolor and colored-pencil drawings, largely in rich earth tones, are integrated to complement and forward the text, each providing details omitted from the other. Trouble is, there's too much talk, and the digging is too dull to engage young readers for long. The central conceit is too slender to sustain interest, and the word "exotic," about which much is made, is never adequately defined. The two Chinese illustrations are crammed with too many details of old China, while the Chinese children are in modern dress--although at the end they use a ridiculously ornate lantern to guide them. The endpapers are particularly delightful, but the overall affect of the book is merely eccentric, rather than exotic.
- John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Alexis knows that she has a very good friend in her next-door neighbor, Marj. Though Marj is much older than Alexis, the two share many interests, such as gardening and talking about exotic places. One day while digging in the garden, Marj reveals that she has always wanted to go to China. She tells Alexis that the world is like an orange, their garden is on one side and China is on the other, and that if you dig deep enough you are sure to pop up in the middle of China. Alexis begins digging in her back yard, not mentioning her project to anyone in case she wouldn't be allowed to go. After days of toil Alexis emerges from her tunnel to find herself in the land of Marj's dreams. But because it is Marj's birthday, Alexis shortens her stay and hurries back to present her friend with a postcard. Rawlins's sensitive story of two kindred spirits is imbued with a warmth echoed in jewel-like pictures rendered in enticing earth tones. The technique of saturant watercolors heavily enhanced with colored pencil creates a marvelous textural appeal similar in density to pastel drawings. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 053105814X
• ISBN 13: 9780531058145
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32